Device for the orderly removal of objects from a container

ABSTRACT

A device for the orderly removal of elongated objects (1), such as plastic spoons, from a container (2) holding a disarray of such objects has an endless conveyor belt (3) and an endless spoon-shifting belt (7). On its outer side, the conveyor belt (3) has transverse grooves (6) which extend throughout the entire width of the conveyor belt (3) and the width of which slightly exceeds that of the objects (1). The conveyor belt (3) has an upper run (3a) which passes through the container (2) in order, in its transverse grooves (6), to receive and transport objects (1) from the disarray of objects in the container (2). The shifting belt (7) has a lower run the plane of which is parallel to the plane of the upper run (3a) of the conveyor belt (3), and extends obliquely across the conveyor belt throughout a portion of its width. The shifting belt (7) has shifting pins (10) which are adapted to engage in the transverse grooves (6) in the upper run (3a) of the conveyor belt (3) in order, during synchronous advance of the conveyor belt (3) and the shifting belt (7), to displace objects (1) received in the transverse grooves (6) in the upper run of the conveyor belt, laterally transversely of the direction of travel (P1) of the conveyor belt so as to place the objects straight behind one another at one end of the transverse grooves (6).

The present invention relates to a device for the orderly removal ofelongated objects from a container holding a disarray of such objects,said device having an endless conveyor belt which is provided on itsouter side with transverse grooves extending throughout the entire widthof the conveyor belt and having a width slightly exceeding the width ofthe objects, and which has an upper run extending through the containerin order, in its transverse grooves, to receive and transport objectsfrom the disarray of objects in the container.

The invention relates in particular to a device for the orderly removalof plastic spoons and will be described hereinbelow with reference tosuch use.

In the packaging of certain food products, it is sometimes desirable toattach on each package a plastic spoon which may be used for eating theproduct. Such attachment of plastic spoons to packages is suitablycarried out during the continuous advance of a ribbon consisting of twoplastic films between which the plastic spoons are fixed in a uniformmanner. The present invention primarily aims at solving the problemswhich precede the manufacture of such a ribbon of plastic spoons andwhich substantially reside in properly withdrawing plastic spoons from adisarray of plastic spoons and arranging them such that when being fedout, they are advanced in their transverse direction in a row followingupon each other.

The object of the present invention is more generally to provide adevice for the orderly removal of elongated objects, such as plasticspoons, from a container holding a disarray of such objects, said deviceadvancing the elongated objects in the transverse direction and in a rowfollowing upon each other.

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by means ofa device which is of the type stated in the introduction to thespecification and which is characterized by an endless spoon-shiftingbelt having a lower run the plane of which is parallel to the plane ofthe upper run of the conveyor belt, and extending obliquely across theconveyor belt throughout a portion of its width and havingspoon-shifting means which are adapted to engage in the transversegrooves in the upper run of the conveyor belt in order, duringsynchronous advance of the conveyor belt and the shifting belt, todisplace objects received in the transverse grooves in the upper run ofthe conveyor belt, laterally transversely of the direction of travel ofthe conveyor belt so as to place the objects straight behind one anotherat one end of the transverse grooves.

In order to maximize the outfeed capacity of the device i.e. the numberof objects withdrawn per unit of time, without necessitating anexcessive speed of travel of the conveyor belt, the width of theconveyor belt preferable is considerably greater than the length of theobjects. The width of the conveyor belt then is at least three,preferably four times greater than the length of the objects.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper run of theconveyor belt is inclined upwardly in the direction of travel, and acollecting chute is provided at the side edge of the conveyor belt wheresaid one end of the transverse grooves is located, for collectingobjects ejected from the transverse grooves by the spoon-shifting meansand returning them to the container.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the transverse groovesare so shallow that two or more objects placed on top of each othercannot be accommodated therein, stripper means being provided over theconveyor belt for removing objects entrained on the upper part thereofbut not properly received in the transverse grooves.

A plate is preferably arranged close above the upper run of the conveyorbelt beside the shifting belt, for preventing objects- from moving up ontop of each other during the lateral displacement thereof by theshifting means.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention which is especiallyintended for the outfeed of plastic spoons will now be described ingreater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view schematically illustrating a device accordingto the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a plastic spoon placed in a groove ofa conveyor belt in the device according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates the plastic spoon in FIG. 2 from above.

The device illustrated in FIG. 1 is intended especially for the orderlyremoval of plastic spoons 1 (FIGS. 2 and 3) from a container 2 and hasan endless conveyor belt 3 passing over two rollers 4. The upper run 3aof the conveyor belt 3, which is inclined upwardly in the direction oftravel P1, extends through the lower portion of the container 2 andforms its bottom. On its outer side, the conveyor belt 3 has equidistanttransverse ribs 5 extending throughout the entire width of the conveyorbelt 3 and defining between them transverse grooves 6 the width of whichslightly exceeds the width of the plastic spoons 1. To avoid crowding ofthe drawing, the ribs 5 and grooves 6 are indicted in FIG. 1 only in thetop portion of the upper run 3a. The conveyor belt 3 is however providedwith such ribs and grooves throughout its entire length.

An endless spoon-shifting belt 7 whose lower run is located in a planewhich is parallel to the plane of the upper run 3a of the conveyor belt3, passes over a lower roller 8 and an upper roller 9, of which thelower roller 8 is situated to the left of the conveyor belt 3 (as seenin the direction of travel P1), and the upper roller 9 is situated overthe upper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3 to the right of the centre lineof the conveyor belt 3 (as seen in the direction of travel P1). Thus,the shifting belt 7 extends obliquely across the conveyor belt 3throughout a portion of its width.

On its outer side, the shifting belt 7 has projecting circular pins 10which are evenly distributed throughout the entire length of theshifting belt 7. The diameter of the pins 10 is slightly less than thewidth of the transverse grooves 6. The distance between the pins 10 isso adjusted, in dependence upon the distance between the transversegrooves 6 and upon the obliqueness of the shifting belt 7 in relation tothe conveyor belt 3, that the pins 10 projecting downwardly from thelower run of the shifting belt 7, during synchronous advance of theconveyor belt 3 and the shifting belt 7, will successively engage inconsecutive transverse grooves 6. Such synchronous movement of the beltsis brought about in that the conveyor belt 3 is driven by a motor (notshown) driving the upper roller 4 thereof, the shifting belt 3 beingdriven by the conveyor belt 3 as a result of the engagement of the pins10 in the transverse grooves 6.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each plastic spoon 1 has two cup-shapedspoon portion 1a which are convex at the rear side of the plastic spoon1 and concave at the front side thereof. When the plastic spoon 1 isresting on a planar supporting surface with its front side facing thesupporting surface, it engages the supporting surface throughout itsentire circumference. When the plastic spoon 1 is resting on a planarsupporting surface with its rear side facing the supporting surface, itwill however engage the supporting surface only with the tops of itsconvex portions, i.e. at two points or restricted regions, asillustrated in FIG. 2.

In the use of the device, a disarray of plastic spoons 1 is placed inthe container 2. A brush 11 arranged in the container 2 is rotated inthe direction of the arrow P2 about an axis extending at right angles tothe direction of travel P1 of the conveyor belt 3, i.e. such that itsunderside moves along with the upper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3, inorder to make the disarray of plastic spoons in the container 2 looser.The upper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3 entrains plastic spoons 1 fromthe container 2. The plastic spoons are received in a completely randomorientation on the upper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3. Of the plasticspoons 1 which are received in any of the transverse grooves 6, some arethus oriented with their front sides facing downwardly and others withtheir rear sides facing downwardly. Each plastic spoon 1 resting on thebottom 6a of a transverse groove 6 with its rear side facing downwardly(FIG. 2) will engage, as mentioned above, the bottom 6a of the grooveonly at two points or restricted regions. Since the convex parts of thespoon portions 1a extend to a higher level than the ribs 5 which definethe transverse grooves 6 and the height of which thus is less than thethickness of the plastic spoons 1 (see FIG. 2), the plastic spoon 1 willeasily slip out of its transverse groove 6 and back into the container2.

If the plastic spoon 1 is resting on the bottom 6a of a transversegroove 6 with its front side facing downwardly, it will however beproperly retained in the transverse groove 6 and conveyed furtherupwardly by the conveyor belt 3. Plastic spoons 1 which are placed onthe upper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3 but in a transverse groove 6,will mostly slide back into the container 2, whether their front sidesor rear sides are facing downwardly.

A brush 12 is provided a certain distance up and along the upper run 3aof the conveyor belt 3 and is rotated in the direction of the arrow P3about an axis extending at right angles to the direction of travel P1 ofthe conveyor belt, i.e. such that its underside will move against theupper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3. The brush 12 acts as stripper meansremoving all plastic spoons that are incorrectly placed on the upper run3a of the conveyor belt 3, i.e. all plastic spoons not properly receivedin a transverse groove 6 in a manner to rest on the bottom 6a thereofwith their front sides facing downwardly.

The plastic spoons 1 correctly received in the transverse grooves 6 areconveyed onwards by the upper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3, the plasticspoons which are not located as far as the right edge of the conveyorbelt 3, as seen in the direction of travel P1, being displaced to theright by the pins 10 of the shifting belt 7 which are engaging in thetransverse grooves 6. When the pins 10 by the movement of the shiftingbelt 7 are moved upwards and out of the transverse grooves 6 at theupper roller 9, the plastic spoons engaged by the respective pins 10have been shifted to such a position that, after the upper roller 9, theare advanced in a row 1' one after the other. If two or more (in theillustrated Example a maximum of four) plastic spoons are correctlyreceived in one and the same groove, the leftmost plastic spoon isshifted to the above-mentioned position at the right margin of theconveyor belt 3. During this displacement, all the other plastic spoonsreceived in the same transverse groove 6 are shifted to the right out ofthe transverse groove 6 and into a collecting chute 13 leading down intothe container 2. In FIG. 1, such ejection is illustrated by two plasticspoons referenced 1". In order that the plastic spoons 1 in one and thesame transverse groove 6 should not be moved up on top of each otherduring the lateral shifting, a plate 14 is provided close above theupper run 3a of the conveyor belt 3 to the right of the shifting belt 7.In the illustrated Example, the plate 14 is made of a transparentmaterial.

The device now described thus provides for an orderly removal of plasticspoons 1 from a disarray of plastic spoons in the container 2, theplastic spoons being so arranged that when being fed out, they arefacing in the same direction (front side downwardly) and are placedstraight behind one another in a row 1'.

I claim:
 1. Device for the orderly removal of elongated objects (1),such as plastic spoons, from a container (2) holding a disarray of suchobjects, said device having an endless conveyor belt (3) which isprovided on its outer side with transverse ribs (5) extending throughoutthe entire width of the conveyor belt (3) and defining between -hemtransverse grooves (6) having a width slightly exceeding the width ofthe objects (1), and which has an upper run (3a) inclined upwardly inthe direction of travel (P1) and extending through the container (2) inorder, in its transverse grooves (6), to receive and transport objects(1) resting on the bottom (6a) of the grooves formed on the conveyorbelt (3), from the disarray of objects in the container (2),characterized by an endless shifting belt (7) having a lower run theplane of which is parallel to the plane of the upper run (3a) of theconveyor belt (3), and extending obliquely across the conveyor beltthroughout a portion of its width and having projecting pins (10)adapted to engage in the transverse grooves (6) in the upper run (3a) ofthe conveyor belt (3) in order, during advance of the conveyor belt (3),to drive the shifting belt (7) and shift objects (1) received in thetransverse grooves (6) in the upper run of the conveyor belt, laterallytransversely of the direction of travel (P1) of the conveyor belt so asto place the objects straight behind one another at one end of thetransverse grooves (6).
 2. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterizedin that the width of the conveyor belt (3) considerably exceeds thelength of the objects (1).
 3. Device as claimed in claim 2,characterized in that the width of the conveyor belt (3) is at leastthree, preferably four times greater than the length of the objects (1).4. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a collectingchute (13) is provided at the lateral edge of the conveyor belt (3)where said one end of the transverse grooves (6) is located, forcollecting objects (1") ejected from the transverse grooves (6) by theshifting means (10) and returning them to the container (2).
 5. Deviceas claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that thetransverse grooves (6) are so shallow that two or more objects (1)placed on top of each other cannot be accommodated therein.
 6. Device asclaimed in claim 5, characterized in that stripper means (12) isarranged over the conveyor belt (3) for removing objects (1) that areentrained on the upper run (3a) thereof but not properly accommodated inits transverse grooves (6).
 7. Device as claimed in claim 6,characterized in that a plate (14) is arranged close above the upper run(3a) of the conveyor belt (3) beside the shifting belt (7) forpreventing objects (1), when being laterally displaced by the shiftingmeans (10), from moving up on top of each other.